Queen Isabella I of Spain - Biography Queen Isabella I of Spain Queen Isabella I of Spain Co-Ruler of Castile and Aragon with Her Husband Ferdinand Queen Isabella I of Castile, c. 1490. Found in the collection of the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images By Jone Johnson Lewis Updated May 11, 2016. Known for: She was queen of Castile and León in her own right. She married Ferdinand II of Aragon, bringing the kingdoms together in what became Spain under the rule of her grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. She is known for sponsoring Columbus' voyage to the Americas, and for her role in "purifying" the Roman Catholic faith through expelling Jews and defeating the Moors. Dates: April 22 , 1451 - November 26 , 1504 Occupation: Queen of Castile and Aragon, Queen of Spain.

Known as: Queen Isabella, Isabella I of Spain, Isabella of Castile and Aragon, Isabella the Catholic, Isabel la Catolica Father: John (Juan) of Castile (1405 - 1454) Queen Isabella Biography Isabella was born in 1451. Her mother was Isabella of Portugal , whose father was a son of John I of Portugal and whose mother was a granddaughter of that same king. Isabella's half-brother, Henry IV , became king of Castile when their father, John II, died in 1454. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Isabella was only three years old, and her younger brother Alfonso was the next in line to the Castilian throne after Henry. Isabella was raised by her mother until 1457, when the two children were brought to court by Henry IV to keep them from being used by opposition nobles. Henry's first marriage ended without children and in a divorce.

When his second wife, Joan of Portugal, bore a daughter, Juana, in 1462, the opposition nobles soon claimed that Juana was actually the daughter of Beltran de la Cueva, duke of Albuquerque. Thus, she's known in history as Juana la Beltraneja. The opposition's attempt to replace Henry with Alfonso met with defeat, the final defeat coming in July, 1468 when Alfonso died of suspected poisoning, though historians consider it more likely he died of the plague. He had named Isabella his successor. Isabella was offered the crown by the nobles, but she refused, probably because she did not believe that she could maintain that claim in opposition to Henry. Henry was willing to compromise with the nobles and accept Isabella as his heiress in September. Marriage to Ferdinand Isabella married Ferdinand of Aragon (a second cousin) in October 1469 without Henry's approval, The cardinal of Valentia, Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI ), helped Isabel and Ferdinand obtain the necessary papal dispensation, but the couple still had to resort to pretenses and disguise to carry out the ceremony in Valladolid.

Henry withdrew his recognition and again named Juana as his heir. At Henry's death in 1474, a war of succession ensued, with Alfonso V of Portugal, prospective husband of Isabella's rival Juana, supporting Juana's claims. The war was settled in 1479, with Isabella recognized as Queen of Castile. Juana retired to a convent rather than marry the son of Ferdinand and Isabella, Juan. Juana died in 1530. Ferdinand had by this time become King of Aragon, and the two ruled with equal authority in both realms, thus unifying Spain. Among their first acts were various reforms to reduce the power of the nobility and increase the power of the crown. The Catholic Monarchs In 1480, Isabella and Ferdinand instituted the Inquisition in Spain, one of many changes to the role of the church instituted by the monarchs.

The Inquisition was aimed mostly at Jews and Muslims who had overtly converted to Christianity but were thought to be practicing their faiths secretly -- known respectively as morranos and moriscos -- as well as at heretics who rejected Roman Catholic orthodoxy, including alumbras who practiced a kind of mysticism or spiritualism. Ferdinand and Isabella were given the title "the Catholic monarchs" (los Reyes Católicos) by the Pope, in recognition of their role in "purifying" the faith. Among Isabella's other religious interests, she also took a special interest in the order of nuns, the Poor Clares . Isabella and Ferdinand proceeded with their plans to unify all of Spain by continuing a long-standing but stalled effort to expel the Moors (Muslims) who held parts of Spain. In 1492, the Muslim Kingdom of Granada fell to Isabella and Ferdinand, thus completing the Reconquista. That same year, Isabella and Ferdinand issued a royal edict expelling all Jews in Spain who refused to convert to Christianity. Christopher Columbus and the New World Also in 1492, Christopher Columbus convinced Isabella to sponsor his voyage of exploration.

The lasting effects of this were many: by the traditions of the time, when Columbus was the first European to encounter lands in the New World, the lands were given to Castile. Isabella took a special interest in the Native Americans of the new lands; when some were brought back to Spain as slaves she insisted they be returned and freed, and her will expressed her wish that the "Indians" be treated with justice and fairness. Art and Education Isabella was also a patron of scholars and artists, establishing educational institutions and building a large collection of art works. She learned Latin as an adult, was widely read, and educated not only her sons but her daughters. The youngest of these daughters, Catherine of Aragon , is known in history as the first wife of Henry VIII of England and mother of Mary I of England . Legacy At her death, Isabella's sons and grandsons and her older daughter, Isabella, queen of Portugal, had already died. That left as Isabella' only heir "Mad Joan," Juana . Isabella's will, the only writing which she left, is a fascinating document, summarizing what she thought were her reign's achievements as well as wishes for the future.

Children of Isabella and Ferdinand Isabella (1470 - 1498), married first Alfonso, a Portuguese prince, then Manuel I of Portugal stillborn son (1475) John (Juan) (1478 - 1497), Prince of Asturias, married Margaret of Austria her heir, Juana (Joan or Joanna), known as "The Mad" or "La Loca" (1479 - 1555), married Philip I, bringing Spain into the Habsburg sphere Maria (1482 - 1517), married Manuel I of Portugal after the death of his first wife, Maria's older sister Isabella Maria's twin, stillborn (1482) Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536), first wife of Henry VIII of England The descendants of Isabella's daughters, Juana, Catherine and Maria, often intermarried .

Related Resources: Queen Isabella Queen Isabella Remains: Buried, Granada Cathedral, Granada, Spain Gender: Female Nationality: Spain Executive summary: Bankrolled Columbus, persecuted Jews Isabella, surnamed la Catolica, the Catholic, Queen of Castile, was the second child and only daughter of John II of Castile by his second wife Isabella, granddaughter of John I of Portugal (thus being through both parents a descendant of John of Gaunt ), and was born at Madrigal on the 22nd of April 1451. On the death of her father, who was succeeded by her brother Henry IV (1454), she was withdrawn by her mother to Arevalo, where her early education was conducted in the deepest seclusion; in 1462, however, along with her uterine brother Alphonso, she was removed by Henry to the court, where she showed a remarkable example of staidness and sobriety.

Already more than one suitor had made application for her hand, Ferdinand of Aragon , who ultimately became her husband, being among the number; for some little time she was engaged to his elder brother Charles, who died in 1461. In her thirteenth year her brother promised her in marriage to Alphonso of Portugal, but she firmly refused to consent; her resistance seemed less likely to be effectual in the case of Pedro Giron, grand master of the order of Calatrava and brother of the Marquis of Villena, to whom she was next affianced, when she was delivered from her fears by the sudden death of the bridegroom while on his way to the nuptials in 1466. After an offer of the crown of Castile, made by the revolutionary leaders in the civil war, had been declined by her, she was in 1468 formally recognized by her brother as lawful heir, after himself, to the united crowns of Castile and Leon.

New candidates for her hand now appeared in the persons of a brother of King Edward IV of England (probably Richard, Duke of Gloucester), and the Duke of Guienne, brother of Louis XI , and heir presumptive of the French monarchy. Finally however, in face of very great difficulties, she was married to Ferdinand of Aragon at Valladolid on the 19th of October 1469. Thence forward the fortunes of Ferdinand and Isabella were inseparably blended, For some time they held a humble court at Due�as, and afterwards they resided at Segovia, where, on the death of Henry, she was proclaimed queen of Castile and Leon (December 13, 1474).

Spain undoubtedly owed to Isabella's clear intellect, resolute energy and unselfish patriotism much of that greatness which for the first time it acquired under "the Catholic sovereigns." The moral influence of the queen's personal character over the Castilian court was incalculably great; from the debasement and degradation of the preceding reign she raised it to being "the nursery of virtue and of generous ambition." She did much for letters in Spain by founding the palace school and by her protection of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera. The very sincerity of her piety and strength of her religious convictions led her more than once, however, into great errors of state policy, and into more than one act which offends the moral sense of a more refined age: her efforts for the introduction of the Inquisition into Castile, and for the proscription of the Jews, are outstanding evidences of what can only be called her bigotry.

But not even the briefest sketch of her life can omit to notice that happy instinct or intuition which led her, when all others had heard with incredulity the scheme of Christopher Columbus , to recall the wanderer to her presence with the words, "I will assume the undertaking for my own crown of Castile, and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the expenses of it, if the funds in the treasury should be found inadequate." She died at Medina del Campo on the 24th of November 1504, and was succeeded by her daughter Joanna "la loca" (the Crazy) and her husband, Philip of Habsburg. Father: King John II of Castile (d. 1454) Mother: Queen Isabella of Portugal Brother: King Henry IV Husband: King Ferdinand II (King of Aragon, five children) Daughter: Joan of Castile ("Joan the Mad") Daughter: Catherine of Aragon (Queen of England) Son: Juan (d. 1497) wikihistoria - Queen Isabella Queen Isabella References Queen Isabella Queen Isabella was the queen of Spain and ruled with her husband Ferdinand. They made some good decisions and some bad decisions.

She started the Spanish Inquisition which was a bad choice. She gave Christopher Columbus his three ships which was a good choice and this was how the Spanish Golden Age was started. Queen Isabella ruled in the 1480's. Queen Isabella Early Life Isabella was born to John II, King of Castile and Isabella of Portugal. She was born on April 22, 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres. Her two brothers were Henry and Alfonso. When Isabella was three her father died. When she was 17 years old, her brother Alfonso died. He was thought to have died by poison because someone did not want him to become king. The nobles went to Isabella and asked her to become queen. They did not want Henry to become king because they did not think he was smart enough or that he would be a good ruler. Isabella refused and said she would not become queen while her brother was alive. Henry became king but said that Isabella was heir to the throne. King Henry wanted Isabella to marry Don Carlos, Prince of Viana, but Isabella wanted to marry Ferdinand.

Then Don Carlos died so King Henry tried to arrange other marriages for Isabella. Isabella still wanted to marry Ferdinand. While King Henry was away, Isabella arranged to get married to Ferdinand. She sent out nobles to find him and when they found him he came back and married her. They got married in 1469 in the palace of Juan de Vivero. King Henry got mad and made his daughter, Joan of Aragon, heir to the throne. When he died no one knew who was supposed to be the next Queen. Then Castile and Aragon went to war with Portugal. It ended in 1479. They made a peace treaty and in the treaty Joan gives Isabella the throne. Queen Isabella Queen Isabella's Ruling Family Isabella and Ferdinand had 5 children. Their childrens names were Isabella, John, Joan, Maria, and Catherine. Isabella made sure that her girls were well educated (which was very unusual for that time period). She also taught them how to sew. They sewed most of their father's clothing. One of her sons died in 1497. Isabella (her daughter) became Queen of Portugal.

She died in child birth in 1498. Then Catherine got married to King Henry VIII. They soon got divorced because Catherine could not produce a male. Joan was going to get the throne but she became crazy. Spanish Inquisition Ferdinand Both Isabella and Ferdinand were strong Catholics. They thought that they should ban everyone who was not Catholic or have them switch to Catholic. This was how the Spanish Inquisition got started in 1478. The Spanish Inquisition lasted till 1808. This was not a very good time in Spain. If you were not a Catholic, you were thought to be against the church. If they did not become Catholics then some of the consequences were torture and death. Then the Chief Inquisitor, Torquemada, convinced Isabella that the Jewish people posed a threat to the Church. Even if they had converted to Catholics. Isabella then ordered that all Jewish people must leave by July 1st or be put to death. Some of the Jewish people stayed secretly. Some of the Jewish people went to Portugal or North Africa to settle. Some of them went and helped out a sea captain who was looking for sailors to find a western route to India. This captain was Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus C The Nina olumbus had been asking for money to sponsor his ships for quite a while. Isabella turned him down because she still had to get Granada the part of Spain she did not rule. Then she got Granada under her control on January 1st, 1492. When that problem was solved they listened to Columbus. Columbus said that he wanted to find a western route to India across the unknown waters. Isabella said it would not be too much money. Also, the rewards might be grand. The royal Treasury said that the cost would be about the same cost as entertaining a visiting noble for a week. On August 3, 1492 he set sail. Isabella had given him 3 ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. She also gave him a crew of 87 men. Christopher Columbus did not land in India but he did get a lot of gold, silver, and spices for Spain. Columbus returned to Spain in 1493 with treasures and some Native Americans. Isabella made a law that no one could hurt the Native Americans. This was the rise of the "Golden Age" for Spain.

The Golden Age Spain began to rise during the Golden Age. They were getting treasures from discoverers. Their manufacturers of clothes, glass, steel weapons, and leather goods became very good. They would not have been such a great country without Isabella. She treated people fairly and with respect ( except the Jewish people). This let Spain be a peaceful country. She had a very powerful army and navy which made Spain a very powerful country. Isabella was a co-ruler with her husband but she was really the better ruler. Ferdinand was the king of Aragon which allowed Isabella to unite Spain. Spain would not have been this powerful with out the skill and guidance of Isabella. Later in Life Queen Isabella died on November 26, 1504. She died in Medina del Campo. She asked in her will that her successors protect and treat the people in America the same as in Spain. Ferdinand continued to rule for 12 more years after Isabella. He died in Madrigalego on January 23, 1516. Their grandson took the throne. He was the son of Joan, Ferdinand's daughter. References Garraty, John A. The Story of America.

Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1994 Lewis, Johnson J. "Isabella 1 of Spain". About.com. 08 October 2008 "Queen Isabella 1". ctspanish.com. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Isabella I Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > I > Isabella I Isabella I Help support New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download . Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99... ("LA CATÓLICA" = "THE CATHOLIC") Queen of Castile; born in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres, 22 April, 1451; died a little before noon, 26 November, 1504, in the castle of La Mota, which still stands at Medina del Campo ( Valladolid ). She was the daughter of John II, King of Castile, by his second wife, Isabella of Portugal.

Being only a little more than three years of age when her father died (1454), she was brought up carefully and piously by her mother, at Arévalo, until her thirteenth year. Her brother, King Henry IV, then took her, together with her other brother, Alfonso, to his court, on the pretext of completing her education , but in reality, as Flórez tells us, to prevent the two royal children from serving as a standard to which the discontented nobles might rally. The Castilian nobles had been constantly increasing in power during the repeated long minorities through which the crown had passed, and had taken advantage of the weakness of kings like Henry II and John II. At this period they had reached the point of completely stripping the throne of its authority. They availed themselves of Henry IV's incredible imbecility and of the scandalous relations between Joan of Portugal , his second wife, and his favourite, Beltran de la Cueva.

Defeated at Olmedo, and deprived of their leader, the Infante Alfonso, who died — by poison, as was believed — on 5 July, 1468, they sought to obtain the crown for the Infanta Isabella, rejecting the king's presumptive daughter, Joan, who was called "La Beltraneja" on the supposition that Don Beltran was her real father. On this occasion Isabella gave one of the earliest proofs of her great qualities, refusing the usurped crown offered to her, and declaring that never while her brother lived would she accept the title of queen. The king, on his part, committed the astounding folly of recognizing Isabella as his immediate heiress, to the exclusion of Joan. Historians have generally been willing to interpret this act of Henry IV as an implicit acknowledgment of his own dishonour.

To be strictly just, however, it was not so, for even if Joan was his daughter in fact, as she was by juridical presumption, he might have yielded to the violence of the nobles, who sought to give the crown to Isabella immediately, and compromised with them by making her his heir, as he did in "the Inn of the Bulls " of Guisando (la Venta de los Toros), 19 September, 1468. For a year before this, Isabella had been living at Segovia , apart from the court, which resided at Toledo; after the conclusion of the pact she was at odds with her brother, the king on account of his plan for her marriage. In 1460 Henry had already offered the hand of Isabella to Don Carlos, Prince of Viana, the eldest son of John II of Aragon , and heir, at the same time, to the Kingdom of Navarre. This Henry did in spite of the opposition of the King of Aragon , who wished to obtain the hand of Isabella (which carried with it the crown of Castile ) for his younger son, Ferdinand.

Negotiations were protracted until the unhappy death of the Prince of Viana. In 1465 an attempt was made to arrange the marriage between Isabella and Alfonso V of Portugal , but the princess had already chosen Ferdinand of Aragon for a husband and was therefore opposed to this alliance. For the same reason she subsequently refused to marry Don Pedro Girón, Master of Calatrava, a member of the powerful Pacheco family , whom the king sought to win over by this means. Other aspirants for Isabella'a hand were Richard, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Edward IV of England , and the Duke of Guienne, brother of Louis XI of France . The Cortes was assembled at Ocaña in 1469 to ratify the Pact of Guisando, when an embassy arrived from Portugal to renew the suit of Alfonso V for the hand of Isabella.

When she declined this alliance, the king went so far as to threaten her with imprisonment in the Alcazar of Madrid , and although fear of the Infanta's partisans prevented him from carrying out this threat, he exacted of his sister a promise not to enter into any matrimonial negotiations during his absence in Andalusia , whither he was on the point of setting out. But Isabella, as soon as she was left alone, removed with the aid of the Archbishop of Toledo and the Admiral of Castile, Don Fadrique Enríquez, to Madrigal and thence to Valladolid , and from there sent Gutierre de Cárdenas and Alfonso de Palencia in search of Ferdinand, who had been proclaimed King of Sicily and heir of the Aragonese monarchy. Ferdinand, after a journey the story of which reads like a novel, for its perils and its dramatic interest, was married to Isabella in the palace of Juan de Vivero, in 1469. On the death of Henry IV became unquestioned.

Ferdinand had meanwhile succeeded to the throne of Aragon , and thus the definitive unity of the Spanish nation was accomplished in the two monarchs to whom a Spanish pope , Alexander VI , gave the title of "Catholic" which the Kings of Spain still bear. Isabella displayed her prudence and gentleness — qualities which she possessed in a degree seldom equalled — in the agreement she made with Ferdinand as to the government of their dominions: they were to hold equal authority, a principle expressed in the device or motto, "Tanto monta, monta tanto — Isabel como Fernando (As much as the one is worth so much is the other — Isabella as Fernando)". The harmonious union of the peoples and the crowns being thus realized, it was necessary to reduce the power of the nobles, who had acquired a position almost independent of the crown and rendered good government difficult.

Towards this object the Catholic sovereigns directed their efforts; among the means which they took should be mentioned chiefly: (1) the establishment of the Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood), a kind of permanent military force, very completely organized, supported by the municipal councils, and intended for the protection of persons and property against the violence of the nobles; (2) an improved and properly ordered administration of justice with a wise organization of the tribunals, the establishment of the Chancery at Valladolid , and the promulgation of the royal edicts generally called "Edicts of Montalvo" after the jurisconsult who drew them up; (3) the abolition of the right of coining money, which certain individuals held, and the regulation of the currency laws so as to facilitate commerce; (4) the revocation of extravagant grants made to certain nobles during the reigns of the late monarchs, the demolition of their castles, which constituted a menace to public peace, and the vesting in the crown of the masterships of military orders .

To preserve the purity of the Faith and religious unity, against the intrigues of the Jews , who were employing the influence of their wealth and their usurious dealings to pervert Christians , the Catholic sovereigns solicited of Pope Sixtus IV the establishment of the Inquisition . Their government thus strengthened at home, the sovereigns proceeded to bring to a completion, by the conquest of Granada , the great work of reconquest which had been virtually at a standstill since the time of Alfonso XI. The taking of Zahara, of which the Moors possessed themselves by surprise, afforded an occasion for the war ; which opened happily with the conquest of Alhama (March, 1482). The Christians were favoured by the internal troubles of Granada , which were due to the party of the Emir Muley Hassan and his son Boabdil, and, after the death of the former, to the supporters of his uncle Abdallah el Zagal. The sovereigns kept up the war in spite of the serious defeats sustained by them at Ajarquia and Loja, and possessed themselves successively of Coin, Guadix , Almería , Loja , Vélez, Malaga , and Baza.

Isabella took a prominent part in this war ; not only did she attend to the government of the kingdom, and provide for the support of the army while Ferdinand did battle at its head, but she repeatedly visited the camp to animate the troops by her presence. This was the case at the siege of Malaga , and at that of Baza, where the stern usages of war did not hinder the Moorish leader, Cid Hiaya, from displaying his chivalry towards the queen. She was in danger of being assassinated by a Mohammedan fanatic before the walls of Malaga , and of perishing in the conflagration of the besieging camp at Granada . In consequence of this conflagration the city of Santa Fe was built, to put an end to the vain hopes of the people of Granada , that the Catholic sovereigns would abandon their enterprise. Granada surrendered 2 January, 1492, and the territorial unity of the Spanish monarchy was established.

To protect its normal unity, an edict was issued three months later (31 March) expelling from Spain the Jews (170,000 to 180,000 souls ), whose cities had admitted the Mussulman invaders in the eighth century, and who constituted a perpetual danger to the independence and security of the nation. While they were carrying on the war against Granada Christopher Columbus presented himself to the Catholic sovereigns, and to Queen Isabella fell the honour of appreciating the genius who had not been understood at Genoa , at Venice , or in Portugal . Protected first of all by the Spanish friars , he was presented to the queen by her confessor, Padre Hernando Talavera, and Cardinal Mendoza (el Cardenal de España); and with the means which the king and queen procured for him he fitted out the three famous caravels which placed America in communication with the Old World. Sailing, 3 August, 1492, from the port of Palos, he discovered on 12 October — the day on which the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is observed in Spain — the first of the Bahama Islands.

Not only did Isabella the Catholic always show herself the protectress of Columbus , but she was also the protectress of the American aborigines against the ill-usage of the colonists and adventurers. In 1503, she organized the Secretariate of Indian Affairs, which was the origin of the Supreme Council of the Indies. Isabella was no less the patroness of the great Cisneros in the reformation of the monasteries of Spain , a work which he accomplished under the authority of Alexander VI given by the Brief of March, 1493, and which anticipated the reform afterwards executed throughout the whole Church. The good government of the Catholic sovereigns brought the prosperity of Spain to its apogee, and inaugurated that country's Golden Age. The manufacture of cloths and silks developed at Segovia , Medina, Granada , Valencia , and Toledo, as also that of glass and of steel weapons, of leather and silverware. Agriculture prospered, while navigation and commerce rose to an unprecedented height in consequence of the great discoveries of that epoch. Queen Isabella by her example led the way in fostering the love of study, and in many respects her Court recalls that of Charlemagne .

When she was already a grown woman she devoted herself to the study of Latin, and became an eager collector of books, of which she possessed a great number. Her Castilian has been ranked as a standard of the language by the Spanish Royal Academy. She was extremely solicitous for the education of her five children (Isabella, John, Joan, Maria, and Catherine), and in order to educate Prince John with ten other boys, she formed in her palace a school similar to the Palatine School of the Carlovingians. Her daughters, too, attained to a degree of education higher than was usual at that epoch, and they so combined with their learning the industries peculiarly appropriate to their sex, that Ferdinand the Catholic could imitate Charlemagne in using no article of clothing that had not been spun or sewn by his consort and his daughters. This example of the queen, a model of virtue, piety , and domestic economy, who mended one doublet for her husband the king as often as seven times, exercised a great moral influence on the nobility in discouraging inordinate luxury and vain pastimes. It also fostered learning not only in the universities and among the nobles, but also among women .

Some of the latter distinguished themselves by their intellectual attainments — e.g. Beatriz Galinda, called la Latina, Lucia Medrano, and Francisca Nebrija, the Princess Joan and the Princess Catherine (who afterwards became Queen of England ), Isabella Vergara, and others who reached great proficiency in philosophy , Latin, and mathematics, and became qualified to fill professional chairs in the universities of Alcalá and Salamanca. Isabella the Catholic was extremely unhappy in her children. Prince John died in youth, full of the most brilliant promise; Catherine was eventually repudiated by her husband Henry VIII ; Joan, heiress to the kingdom, lost her reason. Not the least notable trait in the life of Isabella was the making of that last will and testament, immortalized in Rosales's picture in the Madrid Museum. Her heart was filled with sympathy for the fate of the American Indians , she charged her successors to protect them and to regard them as they regarded their other subjects, and she pointed out Spain's mission in Africa — a mission which the Moroccan question has tardily enough brought to the world's knowledge .

Queen Isabella I Queen Isabella I Isabella I was born on April 22, 1451 in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres. She died on November 26, 1504 in the castle of La Mota. She is often referred to as "La Catï¿½lica" (the Catholic) a "title" given to her by the Spanish Pope, Alexander VI. This is a title that the Kings and Queens of Spain still retain. She was the daughter of John II, King of Castile and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal. Her father died when she was three and her older brother became King Henry IV. The Spanish nobles had become very powerful during the reign of John II. They did not wish to have Henry as their king. They felt that he was not very smart and would not be a good leader. They hoped to make Isabella's other brother, Alfonso, their king, but he died on July 5, 1468. Some people thought that he might have been poisoned to prevent him from being made king. The nobles then approached Isabella who by now was 17.

She refused the throne saying that she would never become queen while her brother was alive. Although he had a daughter, King Henry declared Isabella to be the heir to the throne when he died. It is thought that he did this to make peace with the nobles who had wanted Isabella to be made queen. They knew that she would be the next ruler of Spain and King Henry knew that he could continue to rule. But soon Isabella would be at odds with her brother over her impending arranged marriage. King Henry had wished his sister to marry Don Carlos, the Prince of Viana, who was the eldest son of John II. He was also heir to the Kingdom of Navarre. The King of Aragon, wished to marry Isabella to his son, Ferdinand. Before the final arrangements could be made, Don Carlos died. Henry tried to arrange marriages with several other people including King Alfonso V of Portugal, but Isabella had already decided that she wished to marry Ferdinand. Her brother was so mad that he threatened to throw her in the dungeon. But because of her powerful supporters he knew he could not do that. Instead he made her promise that she would not make any plans to marry until he had returned from Andalusia.

However almost as soon as he had left, Isabella made plans to marry Ferndinand. The only problem was that she had to find him. She sent out noblemen to search for him and he was finally found in Sicily (the island at the bottom of Italy) where he had become King. He has also now become heir to the throne of Aragon. He braved a trip back to Spain and married Isabella in 1469 in the palace of Juan de Vivero. King Henry was mad at his sister, but his new brother-in-law was after all the future King of Aragon. Henry ruled for only 5 more years before he died in 1474 in Madrid. Isabella was then declared Queen of Castile. However, before he had died, Henry had arranged his daughter Joan to be married to King Alfonso V of Portugal. He also made his daughter the heir to the throne. Because there was now there was uncertainty of who was the rightful Queen , Castile and Aragon went to war with Portugal. The war last for five years and ending in peace in 1479 with an alliance between the Kingdoms.

As part of the peace treaty, Joan abandoned her claim to the throne, making Isabella Queen of Spain. During this period, Ferdinand became King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Isabella once again showed her great abilities when she decided that Ferdinand and herself would equally rule the two Kingdoms. She created the motto "Tanto monta, monta tanto - Isabel como Fernando" (As much as the one is worth so much is the other - Isabella as Ferdinand). Now that Isabella and Ferdinand were rulers they set out to achieve some goals. One was the lessening of the power of the nobles who Isabella had thought had become too powerful. They created an organization "Santa Hermandad" (Holy Brotherhood) which was a type of permanent military force. It was paid for by the communities and was intended for the protection of persons and property against the violence of the nobles. They also re-organized the courts and the administration of justice. They removed the rights of certain people to make coins. This made it easier for business because only one type of coin would be used. They took away some of the lands previously given to the nobles and also destroyed some of their castles which they felt was a menace to public peace.

Because they were both devoutly Catholic, they felt that they had to rid Spain of anyone who was not Catholic. Or at least get them to convert. For such reason they got Pope Sixtus IV to establish the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. The Spanish Inquisition, which officially lasted until 1808, was not a good period for Spain. It was particularly bad during the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand. Anyone who was not a Catholic was suspected of being against the church. They risked torture and death if they did not renounce their own religion and become a Catholic. Unfortunately even converting was not good enough for the Chief Inquisitor, Torquemada. He convinced, Isabella and Ferdinand that the Jewish people posed a threat to their Kingdoms, even those that had previously converted. As such on March 31, 1492 Isabella and Ferdinand ordered that by July 1st all people of the Jewish faith had to leave Spain or be put to to death. Some of these people secretly remained in Spain, some settled in Portugal or went to North Africa. And some decided that they would leave Spain as far behind as possible.

They decided to join with a sea captain who was looking for sailors to help him find a new western route to India. The name of the sea captain was Christopher Columbus. Columbus had actually been asking for money to support his trip for several years. He was Italian so he first asked for money from the rulers of the cities of Genoa and Venice in Italy. He then asked the King of Portugal. He tried Isabella and Ferdinand but they had been turning his request down because they still had one more problem they needed to handle. A portion of Spain was still under control of the Arabs (Moors). This was the area of Granada. By January 1, 1492, Granada was under their control. In contrast to the way that they had treated their Jewish citizens, they treated the Moors quite well. In the Treaty of Granada they allowed them to freely practice their religion and even be exempt from taxation for a number of years. Now that the problem of Granada was solved they began to listen to Columbus and his plans to find a new route to India. A route not by sailing east around Africa, but rather west across unknown waters.

They also decided that it would not cost too much money to pay for the trip and the rewards might be quite grand. The person who was in charge of the Royal Treasury said the cost of the trip (3 ships and crew) would be about what is cost them to entertain a visiting noble for one week. On August 3, 1492 Columbus set sail with three ships the Niï¿½a, the Pinta and the Santa Maria and 87 men. (The flag of the main ship, the Santa Maria is shown on the left.) Columbus reached America on October 12, 1492. Actually he had not been sailing for all that time. He had first arrived in the Canary Islands and left them on September 6th. He did not find a new route to India, but found for Spain a land rich with gold, silver and spices. He was convinced that he had found a new route to Asia and the East Indies. He thought that Cuba was actually somewhere in Asia and that the island of Hispanola (where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are now located) was just off the coast of China. He also found the native people. He supposedly called them Indians because he thought they were from the Indies.

Columbus returned to Spain in 1493 bringing with him not only treasures, but also some of these natives. (The picture on the left is a panel from the main door of the US Capital. It is called the Columbus Door and has 8 panels showing scenes from Columbus' life. Just in front of Columbus you can see two of the Native American people.) Queen Isabella became the protector of the Native Americans. Queen Isabella established laws against the abuse of the Native American people by colonists and adventurers. During this time Spain began its rise into greatness. This was the beginning of the "Golden Age" of Spain. Discovers such as Columbus were bringing them riches, their agriculture prospered, they became great manufactures of cloths, glass, steel weapons and leather goods. This could not have been achieved without Queen Isabella. She was able to see the potential of Columbus. Her laws and the fair way she treated her citizens (with the exception of her horrible treatment of the Jewish citizens) enabled Spain to be at peace internally. Her strong army and navy made Spain a world power and a great trading power. The Spanish she spoke is still used by the Spanish Royal Academy as the standard for the language.

Isabella and Ferdinand had 5 children, four girls and 1 boy. They were Isabella, John, Joan, Maria and Catherine. Isabella not only made sure that the girls were well educated (which was unusual for that time), but also that they knew how to do such things as sewing. The children actually made most of their father's clothing. She herself would often mend her husband's and children's clothing. Unfortunately she was not able to enjoy much happiness with her children. Her son died in 1497. Her daughter, Isabella became Queen of Portugal, but she died in 1498 while giving birth. Her son (Isabella's grandson), Miguel died when he was three. Catherine married King Henry VIII of England, but he divorced her when she was unable to produce a male heir. Joan, who was to inherit the throne became crazy. Although she co-ruled with her husband, it was actually her that was the better ruler. Her husband did bring to their marriage the Kingdom of Aragon which enabled them to unite Spain. If the two Kingdoms remained separate it would have been doubtful that Spain could have achieved it greatness. But just uniting Spain did not enable it to become this great power.

It needed a ruler such as Isabella who had the skill to guide and to make Spain a great country. Isabella died on November 26, 1504 in Medina del Campo. In her will she asked that her successors protect and treat the people of the Americas the same as they would the Spanish people. Her husband continued to rule for 12 more years until he died in Madrigalejo on January 23, 1516. He was succeeded to the throne by his grandson, who was the son of his daughter Joan. This person was to become Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Ferdinand and Isabella - Isabella I of Castile Ferdinand and Isabella Isabella I of Castile Before she became Isabella II of Spain... Isabella I of Castile was born on April 22, 1451, and died November 26, 1504 in Medina del Campo, a place in the municipality of Valladolid. She was the Queen of Castile and Leon in her time. Queen Isabella led a rich life, which is demonstrated in her many differentiating titles.

The original Spanish edition of her name is actually not Isabella, but Ysabel - that translates to Isabel in modern spelling. This name, despite prior ideas, is the same as Elizabeth, but she is usually known by the Latin form of her name - Isabella. Still, the official inscription on her tomb, in Latin, is Helizabeth. And, if that isn’t confusing enough, when she and her husband Ferdinand were eventually named the Catholic Monarchs by Pope Alexander VI, she is often known as Isabella Catolica in Spanish. Isabella was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, in a municipality in Spain, and her brother Alfonso was born three years after her. The family lived a short, though content, life together until John II, her father, died in 1454. At this point, her much older half-brother Henry IV was crowned as king. Their peaceful existence was immediately put to a screeching halt when Henry ascended the throne and seized his family’s property and sent all of his half-siblings, including Isabella and her stepmother - siblings to Segovia, and stepmother to Arevalo. They were completely exiled.

Henry was a fearful ruler, and it was he eventually summoned Isabella and Alfonso to court to be put under more direct supervision and control. Yet again, all hell broke loose in Isabella’s world - although, this time, it eventually would change her eventual future for the better. When she and her younger brother Alfonso were living under the sharp eye of King Henry, nobles were secretly plotting against the latter. Eventually, these nobles challenged the King. Among other complaints and charges against him, they forcefully demanded that poor, young Alfonso be named heir to the kingdom when Henry IV died. Surprisingly enough, Henry agreed - but only if Alfonso would marry his little daughter, Joan. Unsurprisingly, he changed his mind a few days later. This angered the nobles in control of Alfonso greatly, and claimed him to be the one and only true heir to this throne that Henry had power over. These forces became stronger and clashed at the Battle of Olmedo in 1467, which was a draw. Alfonso, at the tender age of fourteen, died a year later. Because of this, the only one left to become the hope of the rebelling nobles was Isabella.

She knew that she had to refuse their advances, and used her wits - acknowledging Henry as true king. Her efforts paid off, and, in return, Henry recognized her as the legitimate, true heir of the throne rather than his own daughter, Joan. Even though she and Henry were now on better terms, she was still mostly controlled by him and his power-hungry hand. He tried to persuade her to marry a number of people of his particular choice. Yet, Isabella stayed their advances and propositions and, instead, chose Ferdinand, then the heir of the prodigious throne of Aragon. She preferred him, a handsome, young Ferdinand, to the actual King of Portugal, who was one of Henry IV’s marriage choices for her. This angered Henry again, for pretty, fair-haired princess Isabella could have easily won over much more powerful men as she was seen as quite the catch. She evaded his evil advances again, and secretly married Ferdinand on October 19, 1469 in the city of Valladolid - oddly enough, the city in which she perished, as well. This marriage began a chain of events that would change and shape Spain and the citizen’s way of thinking and living forever. Create a free website

Question: What was the nickname of Queen Joan the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain?
Answer: MAD